Looking for a place to find the perfect volunteer opportunity abroad? Check out GivingWay, a new online platform that connects travelers with over 250 international organizations around the world.
Eight years ago, as a stay-at-home mother of two young children a yearning developed that wouldn’t let me go. I had always been fortunate to travel and I quit my career in business to stay home and raise my kids. Yet after a few years, I felt like something was missing. I wanted to give something back and make a difference in the world, outside of my daily life. I turned to the internet and found an organization that for a fee, provided a short-term international volunteer experience working with elderly in a small town in Costa Rica for a week.
It was such an amazing, life-changing experience that I did it again the following year in Morocco with the same organization. The only downfall was the price was exorbitantly high – over $2,000 for a week that included lodging, food and administrative fees and did not include airfare. As a woman traveling alone I thought it was my only option to find a short-term international volunteer position without going through a church or mission group. I viewed the high fees as my donation to helping others, not realizing that the majority of the money did not go to the non-profit in country.
I was so inspired by my experiences volunteering abroad that I dreamed of making a list on my blog of different international organizations that accepted volunteers. However, I never got around to it. You can imagine my delight when I learned about GivingWay, a new online platform that connects travelers with international volunteer experiences around the world for free.
Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi in Bolivia runs three Wildlife Custody Centres where they tend to over 400 rescued animals.
Volunteering abroad – also known as Voluntourism – is one of the fastest growing sectors of international travel, with an expected 20 million travelers participating in volunteer activities on a trip by 2020.
“It’s no secret, every traveler wants a friend in every city they visit. Trusted friends, and insider information, is the lifeblood of amazing travel experiences. Two people with shared passions and experiences meeting eye-to-eye in the same room and forming real relationships is where life’s magical moments stem from. Finding those amazing connections is a horribly inefficient process. We see a better way” – Drew Meyers, Co-Founder of Horizon App
With the growing demand for free or cheap places to stay around the world, many new services have risen to prominence within the hospitality and travel marketplace. Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and coach surfing services have become fierce competitors to the traditional hotel stays giving travelers better options for lodging and an opportunity to live like a local while abroad. Horizon, a relatively new mobile app and web-based service has joined the marketplace offering travelers the ability to intersect travel, community and social good with each stay. Launched in March of 2015 by Drew Meyers, Will Moyer and Oren Borovitch, Horizon provides a searchable private hospitality exchange network in over 120 countries around the world.
The mission of Horizon is to increase access to travel opportunities by enabling shared hospitality among trusted contacts and communities; providing free or cheap accommodation and cultural experiences not otherwise available. The founders of Horizon strongly believe in the importance of getting people to travel and experience cultures vastly different than their own in order to create a society that gives back and understands the world.
“Enabling more people to venture outside the friendly confines of the their own country and experience an array of foreign cultures, will grow the community of those who realize we live privileged lives the majority of the world can only dream of. Those who experience the world are exponentially more likely to work on projects that improve society and raise the standard of living for those in poverty, rather than just maximizing income”. – states Drew Meyers.
About 230 km (143 miles) away from Bangalore lies the Bandipur National Park in the district of Chamarajnagar. Tucked around the stunning Western Ghat Mountains in Karnataka, Bandipur National Park is regarded as one of the most beautiful parks in India and is home to many types of wildlife including tigers, elephants and gaurs (a type of bull) as well as the predominantly indigenous communities that surround the park. Together with Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala and Nagarhole National Park in the North, it creates the India’s largest biosphere reserve popularly known as the ‘Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve’ and is an important part of India’s efforts towards eco-conservation.
Bandipur National Park was founded in 1974 under the Indian Government in efforts to conserve the tigers and wildlife community, however, in the process of establishing the park the tribal populations who has lived in the forests of the reserve for centuries were moved off of their land and into the villages and hamlets that surround the park. They had lost access to their traditional way of life as forest dwellers and were moved into subsistence farming on dry plots of land.
Morning at a water body inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Photo credit: Nithila Baskaran)
“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow”. – Helen Keller
Lately I’ve been a lot of looking up. Craning my neck to look up to the sky and watch the clouds move or capture the illustrious hues of a summer sunset in Minnesota. For me, looking up has always been something that inspires me in a metaphorical kind of way. I often think about my favorite Helen Keller quote and of all the obstacles she had to overcome in life to achieve her dreams. I am reminded to look up more often instead of looking down or even worse, away.
I have been spending a lot more time this summer chasing the sunset. Perhaps getting a new puppy has inspired me to get out even more than I normally do (which is a lot as I love being outside). Yet little did I know how important it was to find peace and beauty each and every day by watching the sunset. Even if I only am there for a few brief moments to look up and capture the spectacular dance of changing colors and light, it has an extraordinary impact on me. I feel lighter footed when I leave and more connected to our planet and the comings and goings of each day. Furthermore, I finally feel at peace. Continue reading →
“In a remote and lush corner of southern Costa Rica lies a realm of giant trees, potbellied spider monkeys, harpy eagles, prowling jaguars and herds of white-lipped peccary. This is on the last places on Earth where virgin rainforest grows right to the high tide line, and a visitor might walk for hours – or days – along its isolated coast without meeting a single person. This the Osa Peninsula and there is no other place in the world like it.” – Trond Larsen, Osa: Where the Rainforest Meets the Sea
Quietly pushing off the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica lies the beautifully pristine Osa Peninsula, a magical paradise of untouched primitive rain forests, deserted beaches and rural communities relatively hidden to mainstream tourism. Known for its conservation efforts and robust ecotourism industry, the Osa Peninsula is one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet with over 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity in less than one millionth of the Earth’s surface area. However, recent plans to open up an international airport threaten the very beauty, uniqueness and ecological diversity of this place both to its inhabitants and its flora and fauna. Sadly, as little as only 5% of all revenue made on tourism goes back into the local community and the rest goes into other hands.
It is here where conservationist and filmmaker Eytan Elterman and his good friend photographer Marco Bollinger lived for five months to produce the award-winning documentary “2.5 % – The Osa Peninsula” that would change the course of their lives and inspire them to create Lokal, an online booking platform and marketplace for community-based tourism in remote places around the world.
It all began in early 2011 when Eytan read an article about the plans to build an international airport in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. Both Eytan and Marco were deeply inspired by their years of traveling and their passion for engaging with diverse cultures and they wanted to combine their vision of responsible, conscious travel with their expertise in powerful visual storytelling. The story about the building of an airport in the Osa Peninsula greatly piqued their interest.
Eytan and Marco had been working together as the founders of iSeeiTravel, a boutique travel media firm producing brand-building documentary content to showcase local experiences, inspire sustainable travel and highlight unique destinations and conservation. Yet they wanted to do something different and on their own. They moved to the Costa Rica and spent five months living in the Osa Peninsula learning about the unique issues of this area and eventually producing their beautiful documentary film 2.5% – The Osa Peninsula.
Unspoiled coastline in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. Photo credit: Lokal Travel
Meet Elisabetta Colabianchi, Founder of Kurandza, a non-profit social enterprise that invests in the future of women in Mozambique.I have featured her work and organization before on my blog and include their products under my Gifts that Give Back Guide. Kurandza uses education, entrepreneurship and sustainable development programs to help create opportunity and change for women and their communities. A devastating two-year drought in Mozambique has caused widespread hunger inspiring Elisabetta to shift gears and focus on hunger relief. Here is her heartwarming story.
Percina and Elisabetta, two wonderful friends who met in a village in Mozambique while Elisabetta was a Peace Corps volunteer. Photo credit: Nicole Anderson of Sorella Muse Photography
“Kurandza: To Love”: Written by Elisabetta Colabianchi, Founder and Designer, Kurandza
I’d known there was a hunger crisis in Mozambique, but what really got to me was hearing that HIV positive mothers were faced with choosing between letting their children starve or nursing their children past the recommended time despite the risk of passing on HIV.
Prior to founding my non-profit organization, Kurandza, which means “to love” in the local Changana language, I lived in Mozambique as a Peace Corps volunteer for three years. While there, I worked at a rural hospital counseling mothers on the prevention of HIV transmission to their babies, and had successfully prevented the transmission to hundreds of children.
At first, I thought that maybe the mothers who continued to nurse despite the risk were doing this because they forgot their training. Or I thought perhaps I hadn’t taught them very well after all.
But when I counseled one of these mothers over the phone last month from my home, now living thousands of miles away in California, I realized she knew exactly what she was doing, and that it hurt her to do so. She knew that by continuing to nurse her child past the recommended time, she was putting her baby at risk to contract HIV. She knew that when a child contracts the HIV virus, it often leads to mortality.
Last July, when I was in Arusha, Tanzania I stayed at a Tanzanian-run hotel that is a popular launching off point for safaris and Kilimanjaro climbs. The hotel is owned and run by a Tanzanian woman who also does a fair amount of charity work within the community. One such project she worked on was supporting a local orphanage. As a social good blogger, I was very interested in visiting the orphanage to meet the children and spend a little time playing with them. I agreed to join a huge group of American volunteers who were heading over to the orphanage for the day to check it out. Little did I know, my visit is something that many international organizations that work to protect children are trying to stop.
A month ago, I was contacted by Anna McKeon, Co-Coordinator for Better Volunteering, Better Care, a global initiative facilitated by The Better Care Network and Save the Children UK aimed at discouraging orphanage volunteering and promoting ethical volunteering alternatives. Anna wanted to see if I would be interested in joining the upcoming blogging blitz to lobby the volunteer travel industry to stop orphanage trips, and to raise awareness about the issue.
Since the onset of the campaign in early May, I learned a lot about the negative consequences of volunteering and visiting orphanages. Although it often seems as a great way to give back and make a difference, orphan trips can be harmful for vulnerable children, and is also contributing to a growing orphanage industry and the separation of children from their families. Child protection specialists have expressed concern about this growing phenomenon in over 20 countries worldwide. Anna herself had once volunteered at a few international orphanages (See article: I Volunteered at an Orphanage and Now I Campaign Against It”) and it was through her experiences that she became committed to end it.
These girls live right outside the orphanage and are school age. When girls in Tanzania go to school, it is customary to shave their heads.
So what have I learned since the beginning of this campaign? Quite a few things that I honestly was completely unaware of and even took me by surprise.
“Sooner or later, we will have to recognise that the Earth has rights, too, to live without pollution. What mankind must know is that human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans”. – Evo Morales
Oh Mother Earth how I love thee. I am disheartened by the constant heartache you have to face. The earthquakes, the floods, the wildfires and the taking away of your beauty. It saddens me greatly. You are such a beautiful place! I sincerely hope that future generations learn to love and protect you and don’t throw the beauty we have away. There is so much working against you.
As I breathe in the thick smoky, polluted air today that has blown in to Minnesota all the way from the fierce wildfires burning in Alberta, Canada, I am sad and filled with despair. When will we take better care of our most important thing we have? Our planet?
Of course some of these forces are simply due to Mother Nature but many other devastating things are due to humans. How will you handle over 8 billion people living and taking your resources? I wish there was an easy answer.
Our beautiful pristine Northern Minnesota.
“When we recognise the virtues, the talent, the beauty of Mother Earth, something is born in us, some kind of connection, love is born”. – Thich Nhat Hanh
The green lush countryside of Guatemala
“You carry Mother Earth within you. She is not outside of you. Mother Earth is not just your environment. In that insight of inter-being, it is possible to have real communication with the Earth, which is the highest form of prayer”. – Thich Nhat Hanh Continue reading →
(1). The decorative edge of a sari used to provide comfort and protect to loved ones. (2). A Shelter.
I first learned about Anchal Project a few years ago from a fellow social good blogger who lives in Louisville, Kentucky where Anchal Project is based. After looking at their beautiful website and learning about their philanthropic model, I bought my first scarf and fell in love with the beauty and exquisiteness of their unique products and the story behind each scarf. I have been promoting their products on my Gifts that Give Back page for years and finally this week I had the opportunity to speak with co-founder and CEO Colleen Clines about the inspiration behind Anchal Project and what she has done to help women escape poverty and prostitution in India. Little did I know, her own personal story was equally as inspiring and powerful as her work heading Anchal Project. Here is the story.
This Mother’s Day, why not consider a unique gift that also gives back to a mother in return? I have compiled a fabulous list of ideas that include beautiful products handmade by women as well as donations that support mothers around the world.
Here are some of the loveliest gifts that give of the season for that special mom in your life.
Beautiful handmade products that give back to mothers
Bloom & Give
Bloom & Give sells beautifully handcrafted scarves and bags made in India using techniques passed on from generation to generation. Each product is designed in the US by one of Bloom & Give’s designers, and made in India with love. Bloom & Give donates 50% of their profits to support girls education programs in India through their partner Educate Girls to improve the lives of girls in Rajasthan. Here are a few new products:
BARI INDIGO SILK COTTON SCARF
BARI LILAC SILK COTTON SCARF
Maya Hamsa Blue Tote
Mother’s Day Special: Bloom & Give has graciously offered my readers a 20% discount off their purchase. At checkout , please enter the code: THIRDEYEMOM.
Designing Change Stitch by Stitch” Anchal creates absolutely stunning scarves, pillows and quilts each handmade out of recycled saris by Indian women rescued from prostitution. Here are some of their latest products:
Connected in Hope is a nonprofit social enterprise & lifestyle brand that empowers vulnerable women and families in Ethiopia to rise above poverty. Connected in Hope currently employ 80+ artisans, providing them with sustainable, predictable incomes. One hundred percent of the profit generated from product sales is reinvested in programs that benefit the artisans and their families. Profits fund Connected in Hope’s innovative preschool and kindergarten, adult literacy classes, community education events and health care programs.
FASIKA FOLDOVER CLUTCH (CAMEL)
FASIKA FOLDOVER CLUTCH (CAMEL)
Enat Scarf with FASIKA FOLDOVER CLUTCH (CAMEL)
Mother’s Day Special: Connected in Hope is offering free shipping on all Mother’s Day orders over $100 with coupon code: FORMOM. To view special products for Mother’s Day click here.
All Across Africa currently works with over 3,000 artisans in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, paying artisans up front for the goods at many times what they could sell them for in a local market. This sustainable income allows them to send their children to school, feed their families and even create savings accounts. In addition, money goes back into the communities in the form of education and training programs. All Across Africa believes that job creation is the solution for the rural poor in these countries. Check out their beautiful handmade and fair-trade goods here. You are bound to love the products and the amazing work All Across Africa is doing.
Here are some of their beautiful products that would make lovely gifts for your mom.
Humanity Unified is a for-profit enterprise that donates 100% of net profits to Humanity Unified International, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to lifting vulnerable populations out of poverty. Together with local NGO, Aspire Rwanda, they are developing a food security project that will benefit 100 women living in poverty. The project will provide a women’s farming cooperative with the education, tools and training necessary to generate livable incomes, so that they can be self-sustaining and provide for their families after one year. These beautiful Mala bracelets are a wonderful gift for your mom.
The Resilience Mala
The Transcendence Mala
The Strength Mala
Set of two Malas
Special Mother’s Day Discount: Humanity Unified is offering 10% off any item. Just enter the code: 4mom when checking out.
Kurandza is a purpose-driven fashion company that creates handcrafted jewelry and accessories with women in Mozambique. Their mission is to empower women, the majority of whom are HIV positive, through education and employment opportunities. In addition to receiving fair wages for their work, profits from sales go back to this community to fund development projects.
Currently Percina Miocha, the Director of Kurandza in Mozambique, is currently visiting the United States for the first time! It’s been her dream to visit the U.S. since high school, and she’s finally realizing this goal. She’s preparing to return to Mozambique this week and will bring new skills and lots of memories back with her! She’s enjoyed her time so much that she plans to come back every year.
Here are some new products for your mom.
Special Mother’s Day Discount of 10% off with code “thirdeyemom” on orders placed before Mother’s Day.
Your purchase of a fashionABLE scarf creates sustainable business for women in Africa. Our commitment as a non-profit is to the development of people — fashionABLE works with women who have been exploited due to the effects of poverty. So, when you purchase a scarf you are providing jobs, and then we send the net profits back to holistically rehabilitate more women.I had the opportunity to visit fashionABLE in Ethiopia and it is an amazing program!
This Mother’s Day, why not honor your mom with a gorgeous Tirhas leather Saddlebag?
Thistle Farms is a social enterprise of women survivors of prostitution and drug addiction that would provide an opportunity for a sustainable income and life for the women. Based in Tennessee, Thistle Farms houses a natural bath and body care company, Thistle Stop Café, a paper and seeing studio and a global marketplace called Shared Trade. Today, Thistle Farms employees more than 50 survivors and benefits over 700 women a year. Proceeds support Thistle Farms and the residential program, Magdalene. The community provides housing, food, healthcare, therapy and education for two years, without charging residents or receiving taxpayer money.
Here are some of their wonderful products for your mom including such lovely ideas as the Thistle Farms Bug Free Candle (Made with nature’s best ingredients for repelling insects – organic rose geranium oil, geraniol, cinnamon leaf oil, citronella and clove bud oils), the Lilly Gift Set (Uniquely handcrafted planters from Freedoms Promise in Cambodia. Freedom’s Promise seeks to combat human-trafficking in Cambodia by providing fair wages and safe working environments for women artisans), and the Blessed Hope Nepal Bracelets (Their new roll-on bracelets from Thistle Farms’s Global partner in Nepal, come in an array of vibrant colors and feature hand-crocheted beads in intricate patterns).
For the mom who has everything but wants to give something special:
The Miracle Foundation:
There are millions of orphaned children in the developing world, many of whom languish in sub-standard institutions without access to basic food, clean water, clothing, schooling and medical care. That’s why The Miracle Foundation, a non-profit organization that empowers orphans to reach their full potential by turning orphanages into places where children thrive, is launching its unique Mother’s Day campaign. The 501(c)(3) charity, which revolutionizes the way orphanages are run, funded and managed, hopes to raise funds by May 8th to pay the annual salaries and room & board of the housemothers working in its orphanages.
Children at one of the orphanages The Miracle Foundation supports in India. Photo Credit: Lynne Dobson
A child and a house mom at one of the orphanages The Miracle Foundation supports in India. Photo Credit: Lynne Dobson
Spiritual development is part of the The 12 Rights of the Child that form The Miracle Foundation’s philosophy of nurturing children to their fullest potential. At Anbarasi Children’s home, these girls pray after returning from school. Children at one of the orphanages The Miracle Foundation supports in India. Photo Credit: Lynne Dobson
Each of Miracle’s housemothers acts as a mom to the 20 orphaned children in her care, creating an environment where they can truly thrive. These incredible women raise the boys and girls the charity supports into smart, strong, compassionate and self-sustaining men and women.
“This Mother’s Day, instead of giving her flowers, candy, or dinner at a nice restaurant, we invite you to honor your mom by spending the same amount of money in a much more meaningful way,” said Caroline Boudreaux, Founder of The Miracle Foundation. “Participating in our campaign will engage both of you in the lives of less fortunate children in the developing world. What better way to pay tribute to your mother than by helping provide a mom to those who don’t have one?”
Caroline Boudreaux, Founder of The Miracle Foundation, in Delhi. Photo Credit: Lynne Dobson
Here’s what your Mother’s Day gift can do:
$25: Feeds a housemother for one month
$60: Funds a housemother for one month, including food, salary and room & board
The Adventure Project is a non-profit that “adds venture” to offer education, tools and resources for people to become entrepreneurs and change their lives. The Adventure Project partners with some of the leading non-profit organizations on the ground, focusing on the world’s greatest issues affecting people in poverty such as the environment, health, hunger and water.
Currently The Adventure Project is running a campaign to provide safe, clean drinking water to women in Uganda.
“There are 4.5 million orphans in Ethiopia. What if we each helped them in a small, tangible way? The total effort would be substantial.” – Josh Allen, founder of WO Design.
It was during a life-changing service trip to Ethiopia in the fall of 2012 that Josh Allen, a young dad from Bozeman, Montana, was exposed firsthand to the hardship faced by widows and orphans in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Josh went to Ethiopia as a delegate with the Global Leadership Summit and was introduced to various non-profit organizations around Addis Ababa, the nation’s capital. He spent a day with Bring Love In, a non-profit organization that helps to provide orphans and widows with a loving, stable home. Josh was instantly moved by the program and the amazing success they had in giving both unwanted orphans and widows a second chance at life and love.
He returned home to Montana driven to make a difference and help support the orphans and widows he met at Bring Love In. Already a successful retailer Dee-O-Gee and developer of dog toys, Josh found a way to bring his expertise and desire to help orphans and widows together by the creation of his company, WO Design (which stands for Widows and Orphans Design).
In the fall of 2014, Josh launched WO Design with his first product, the WO Bone, that is made in his hometown of Bozeman, Montana. For each dog toy purchased, two meals are provided to widows and orphans at Bring Love In in Ethiopia. Nine months later, he added another product, the WO Disc and by the end of 2015, over 5,000 meals have been provided to widows and orphans at Bring Love In.
To be a girl in the developing world is an additional hurdle to overcome. Not only will you likely be poor, you will also likely be married young, uneducated, physically and sexually abused and lack the potential to follow your dreams of having a better life.
What if we could change this vicious path and instead give young women an opportunity to thrive, to be inspired and to follow their dreams?
This is the inspiration behind Chicabrava’s Camp Bella and Chicas Adelante. To break the mold of gender equality by offering young women and girls hope. Hope to dream. Hope to change their destiny and hope for a better future.
The women of Chicabrava Photo credit: Chicabrava
Houston-native Ashley Blaylock moved to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua in 2003 when it was an undiscovered fishing village. She had fallen in love with the country and wanted to follow her dreams of starting up the very first all-women’s surf camp in Nicaragua. At the time, no women surfed yet Ashley persevered. Over time she developed strong ties and acceptance within the local machismo community and opened the doors to Chicabrava in 2008. By working with the community, Ashley helped transform the cultural belief that surfing was only for men and party goers. On the contrary, Chicabrava broke gender roles by demonstrating that surfing is a serious sport that women can enjoy and feel empowered. Continue reading →
